The Aldi Area Management Programme www aldirecruitment co

The Aldi Area Management Programme www. aldirecruitment. co. uk Delivered by Aidan Lawrence 4 th March 2013

About Aldi • The worlds largest discount retailer • Global revenues in excess of 55 billion Euros in 2012 • Global Headquarters: Mulheim Germany • 1 st store opened in Essen in 1913. • Today, there are now over 8000 stores worldwide • Over 100, 000 employees • Operations in 17 countries globally, including Germany, the USA, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and The Republic of Ireland. • www. aldi. com www. aldi. co. uk

About Aldi UK Fastest growing large food retailer in the UK 1 st store opened in 1990 in Stechford, East Birmingham Today, there are 472 stores across the UK and Ireland +4. 0% UK grocery market share Aldi UK currently opens a new store every fortnight Winner of the Which ‘Supermarket of the Year’ award, 2012 • www. aldi. co. uk • • • www. aldi. co. uk

About Aldi UK (continued) • A market leader for both quality and price www. aldi. co. ukk

The Aldi Management Graduate Programme • Ranked No 5 in the Times top 100 graduate companies to work for • The only retail management scheme in the Times top 10. • Leadership scheme: – Area Management Training Programme – Aldi Retail Placement (1 year internship) • Aldi Area Management Training Programme: – Starting salary of £ 40000 rising to £ 65500 after 4 years. – Fully expensed Audi A 4, pension scheme, life assurance, company healthcare, five weeks annual holiday, international secondment opportunities • Aldi Retail Placement – £ 25000 salary – 20 days annual leave – The opportunity to apply for a place on Aldi’s award winning Area Management Training Programme www. aldi. co. uk

What we ask for from you Video http: //vimeo. com/29780988 www. aldi. co. uk

Aldi: The requirements • A good degree – Minimum being a 2: 1 (in any discipline). • Strong leadership skills • Commercial awareness • Energy, commitment & ambition • Exceptional work ethic www. aldi. co. uk

What to expect in Year 1 • • • Day 1: Welcome to Aldi. Meet rest of successful intake cohort, mentor & regional director team. Full tour of regional distribution centre & collect keys to company car. Weeks 1 -3: Shadowing mentor, and gaining an understanding of the role Weeks 4 -10: Intensive Store Management Training Weeks 10 -11: Holiday Weeks 11 -29: Store Management of two multi million £ stores. Successful delivery of KPI’s will result in store management sign off. Weeks 30 -31: Holiday Weeks 32 - 39: Area manager training – preparation to a run portfolio of stores to exceptional levels, from financial planning, to property management, to merchandising excellence. Weeks 40 -47: Area Covers: Take full control on an Area whilst a colleague is on holiday, putting new skills to the test. Weeks 48 -49: Holiday Weeks 49 -50: Head Office Training. Accounts, trading, store operations support, logistics, property and vital business administration issues will be covered. Commercial project. Weeks 50 -52: Review of year 1 performance and Area Manager sign off. Made ready to take over a multi million £ multisite portfolio of stores. www. aldi. co. uk

Aidan Lawrence – How I got here • GCSE’s • A Levels • The University of Birmingham – BA (Hons) Geography (1 st) – Class of 2000 – M. Sc. World Economy – 2001 – MBA, Exec - 2012 to 2014 (expected) • Consultant FMCG & Telecoms: Churchill Executive Recruitment. Operating at a middle to senior management level across Sales, Marketing, Category Management and Supply Chain • Aldi – October 2004 - present www. aldi. co. uk

How I got here (continued) How did I get my job with Aldi? • Gained commercial knowledge of the company, whilst working in consultancy • Applied online via graduate website, www. aldirecruitment. co. uk • Sent CV and leadership based covering letter. • Invited to ½ day assessment centre (chaired by Regional Directors): assessment criteria entailed psychometric tests, presentations and group exercises. • Invited back for final stage: Interview with Regional Managing Director • Successful – Joined on graduate scheme in October 2004 www. aldi. co. uk

My Role • • • Currently responsible for stores across North Warwickshire (A 5 corridor) adjacent to the UK headquarters. Turnover - £ 50 million, 175 staff, including 5 store managers & 11 assistant store managers. Oct 04 -0 ct 05 – Graduate Trainee Area Manager: Successfully managed stores as a Store Manager in Birmingham, Shropshire and Rugby, maximising sales and minimising inventory losses, controlling a turnover of up to £ 6 million, and 20 staff. Oct 05 – Jun 08 – Area Manager, North Worcestershire: Set up the ‘footprint’ for the ‘southern belt’ opening several new stores within Evesham, Leominster and created a template for store growth, with sites collectively now turning over +£ 100 million annually. Mentor; trained and developed colleagues from the UK, Germany and the USA. Jun 08 – Jun 12 – Area Manager, Birmingham: Launched new Sunday trading hours trial, and the multi million £ ethnic food range nationally across the inner city store portfolio to maximise sales in stores within the UK’s largest cities. Trained and developed colleagues from Greece. Visited the German business (Nuremberg) ahead of the UK national remerchandising programme in 2009. Jun 12 – Present – Area Manager, North Warwickshire: Lead the UK’s highest profile area. Head of the Regional Payroll Committee & Regional Merchandising strategy. Opened Aldi Burntwood in Nov 12. Key KPI’s: Sales growth, customer service, availability, productivity, payroll costs, staff turnover, sickness, inventory loss, wastage across fresh categories www. aldi. co. uk

Employability Tips • Research the company thoroughly. Use the website, business press, etc. • Use social networking to connect with and research key employers (Linked In, Twitter, Facebook). • Utilise the Universities resources: The Careers Centre, attend Careers Fairs and Business Workshops (AIESEC, Insight into Management, etc. ). • Maximise your leadership potential through extra curricular activities: Play in sports teams at departmental (if not University) level. Travel and work abroad to develop a global understanding. • Stay active and positive. This will create an edge in a competitive market. www. aldi. co. uk

Aldi: Your Global Reach www. aldirecruitment. co. uk Questions? www. aldi. co. uk